Mirror Images
by riddermark
Summary: When Emma and Regina finally seem to be getting somewhere in the "friendship" department, Regina disappears. The only clues Emma has to go on is her discarded cell phone, some weird glittery dust, and a best friend (Ruby) who won't stop making "I know what you did last night" jokes. Meanwhile Regina is dealing with the blue gnat in a battle of wills that could cost her everything.


**A/N: New story, and I'm really liking it so far! Enjoy :)**

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><p><strong>Regina<strong>

_Oh my head…I'm never drinking that much again. Damn you Emma!_

_Wait…Emma…did we…what happened last night? Must find my phone…_

Regina's hand shot from under her covers and started groping the bedside table for her phone. Finally her fingers grazed the edge of the phone, but before she could get a good grip on the phone it fell off the side.

"Dammit!" Regina's head poked from under her pillow and she looked over the edge of the bed. Spotting her phone she picked it up and retreated once more under the covers. She frantically started scrolling through her messages, and opening Emma's.

** 5:37pm. Friday**

_E: Hey what time is dinner again?_

_ R: 7 dear, and no try not to be late…again._

_ E: That was ONE TIME Regina! I said I was sorry. Leroy held me up._

_ R: Leroy is always the excuse._

_E: That's because I'm having to constantly arrest him. Seriously if he acted like that in the Enchanted Forest I'm not surprised you tried to kill him so much. I don't know how Snow stands him._

_R: Well…no I won't that's too easy._

_E: LOL look at you, controlling yourself. That's new._

_R: Very funny Miss Swan, very funny._

_E: I saw my chance and I took it, can't blame me for that can you?_

_R: I suppose not, remember dinner's at 7 and then Henry wants to watch a movie._

_E: Cool…does that mean we get to cuddle up in front of the fire LOL_

_R: Don't push your luck Miss Swan, 7 o'clock sharp._

_E: Copy that._

**7:42am. Saturday**

_E: I didn't leave leave, I'm getting us breakfast. I hope you're not freaking out to much about what happened last night. Just so you know I regret nothing. We can talk about it when I get back alright?_

Regina glanced up at her alarm clock **7:54am.** _She probably went to Granny's so twenty to twenty five minutes there and back right? Which means I've got less than ten minutes to become presentable again, shit. _Regina quickly rolled out of bed and headed for the bathroom.

_Okay first brush your teeth and comb your hair. _She glanced at the mirror._ Hair actually still looks pretty good, that's lucky._ _Alright what next? _Regina glanced at the shower. _Maybe just a pop in and out, to freshen up, yeah we'll do that. _She stripped quickly and turned the water to hot.

Once under the water she paused to gather herself. _Good lord I'm sore, why am I…oh right._ Regina chuckled to herself. _This is a good thing right? I mean we've been moving towards this for awhile, or at least we seemed to be. I like her, I know I do. _Her fists clench briefly under the hot flow of the water. _It's not too fast, it's just us. So very like us._ She shut the shower off and stepped out. _Okay what to wear. _She stared between her closet and dresser. With a huff she turned for the dresser pulling out a simple grey v-neck and fresh cotton pajama bottoms and then wrapped her robe around her. Just as she was finishing she heard the downstairs door open.

Regina took a deep breath and exhaled loudly.

"Okay here we go then." She walked out of her room onto the landing. She could hear someone coming up the stairs. "Emma?" No answer came, Regina's forehead furrowed. "Emma?" Again no answer. _Why won't she respond?_ She reached the top of the stairs and paused. Her forehead furrowing her anger this time. "What are you doing in my house? Get o—" Her words were cut off as a cloud of dust engulfed her vision and everything went black.

**Emma**

**8:15am**

_Well that took way longer than I expected. Should have known Ruby would be working this early, on a day I needed in and out, without being questioned why I have breakfast for two._ Emma rolled her eyes. _I really am an idiot sometimes. Hope she's not angry, or freaking out, or both. _Emma looked apprehensively up at the white manor in front of her, and took a deep breath as she reached to open the door.

"That's weird, did I not shut it all the way when I left?" Emma pushed the door the rest of the way open. "Regina?" she called into the empty foyer. _Maybe she's still asleep?_ Emma walked up the small staircase and set the take out from Granny's on the side table. She glanced up the stairs leading to the second floor, she couldn't detect any noise or movement coming from up above. Emma's brow crinkled. _It's not like Regina to sleep so late, surely she didn't leave._ She started up the stairs, and headed for Regina's bedroom, the door was ajar.

_Okay I did not leave that one open._

"Regina? You in there?" Nothing. Emma pushed the door open and walked in. The bed was unmade, but when Emma felt the spot Regina had been lying in it was still warm. _She can't have left long ago,_ _so where is she?_ Emma poked her head in the bathroom to check, nothing there. Then she walked back out onto the landing. _Maybe she's in the kitchen or study and didn't hear me._ Something made her pause at the head of the stairs, a sparkly dust coating the carpet. _That's not from her for sure—_then she noticed Regina's cell phone on the ground by the wall. "What is going on here?" The detective in her was nagging at her, something was wrong here. Emma pulled out her own phone and dialed.

"_Hey Dad, sorry to wake you so early but can you come over to the manor?" _

"_Regina's manor?"_

"_Yeah, I came ba—by to talk to her about something and the front door was open along with her bedroom door and there's some weird sparkly dust on the floor and Regina's cell looks like its been dropped or tossed aside. Something feels wrong."_

"_Yeah alright what—ok Snow. Your mother is coming too, and she says to call Ruby. She might be able to smell what happened, if something did."_

"_Yeah I'll do that. See you soon." _

She hung up then and dialed Ruby. _Guess I have to tell Ruby who breakfast was for after all._

"_Hey Rubes."_

"_Hey you were just here miss me already?"_

"_Yeah I know I was just there. Listen I'm at Regina's—"_

"_So that's who the extra food was for, I knew it wasn't all yours."_

"_Yes that's who the food was for, I'll explain later. I need you to come here as soon as possible. It looks like Regina might be missing, and I know she was here half an hour ago. Can you come?" _

"_Hold on a sec—Granny! Emma needs my help. Okay yeah Emma I'll be there in a few minutes." _

"_Thanks Ruby, see ya."_ Emma hung up and looked around the landing again.

"Where are you Regina? What happened?"

Emma was sitting at the base of the stairs staring at Regina's phone when Charming and Snow arrived twenty minutes later.

"Emma? Are you alright?" Snow stopped short in the enterance at the sight of her daughter's face. Emma started not realizing they had arrived.

"What? Yeah I'm okay. I'm just trying to figure out what happened. Nothing here makes sense." She held up Regina's phone. "I found this on the floor against the wall, like it had been dropped there. It had to have be dropped, Regina doesn't just leave things on the floor." Emma shook her head and gestured up the stairs. "And there's this weird glittery shit all over the top of the stairs. Regina hates glitter, and things on her floor. It doesn't make sense. None of this was here earli—" Emma stops realizing what she was about to reveal.

"Earlier? What do you mean? You were here with Regina already this morning? It's barely past eight thirty." Snow reached out to touch Emma's arm. "What's going on Emma?" Emma grunted in frustration.

"That's what I'm trying to tell you I don't know. All I know is she was here when I left, I was gone maybe half an hour, that's it and I come back and she's gone and this stuff is here." David's brow furrowed.

"Why were you here so early?" Emma fidgeted.

"I had dinner here last night, then Regina and I—we went to the study and had some cider and we got talking about Henry, when he was growing up. She was telling me stories. I—I must have passed out on the couch there." Emma didn't look at her parent's but instead glanced up the stairs again. She missed the look of confusion they shared. David stepped forward after a moment.

"When you left earlier, did anything look strange?"

"No, everything looked like it did last night."

"What about outside the manor? Was there anyone out yet? Or maybe something that maybe isn't normally there?" Emma closed her eyes thinking back, and shook her head.

"No, everything looks like it always does. It was early, no one was out yet."

"And you saw nothing on your way to Granny's?"

"I saw Archie walking Pongo, and Sneezy opening up the Drugstore."

"Nothing weird about that. Hmm—" David walked up the stairs and knelt to examine the dust on the floor. He looked back at Emma and Snow. "This dust, Snow, could it be fairy dust?" Snow came up the stairs then. She ran a finger through the dust and held it up to examine.

"It could be I suppose. I've only ever seen fairy dust glowing, this could be the dust in its inactive stage. We would have to ask a fairy to know for sure." Just then there was a knock at the door. Emma stood.

"That's got to be Ruby." Emma yanks the door open to a gaping Ruby who has her hand up to knock again.

"Oh hey Emma! I'm here what do you need?" Emma pulls her in by the arm.

"Okay so here's what we know. Regina was here little over half an hour ago when I left to go the diner. When I got back the front door and bedroom door were ajar, neither were when I left. Also Regina's phone appears to have been dropped on the floor at the top of the landing, and there's this weird glittery dust on the stairs, that we think could be fairy dust. Can you—I was—we were wondering if you'd be able to smell anything." Ruby nodded and closed her eyes sniffing the air in the manor deeply.

"Hmm—well I smell lasagna for starters."

"Yeah that's what she made for dinner last night. What else?" Ruby opened her eyes, cocking her head to the side and started up the stairs.

"I smell—" she paused, causing Emma who was following close behind, to bump into her.

"Whoops sorry." Emma caught herself on the railings, then looked up at Ruby, who was attempting to control the smirk growing on her face. "What?"

"Oh I think you know what." Ruby tilted her head towards the bedroom just enough to get Emma's attention. Emma's face turned bright red, and she swallowed hard. "Don't worry I won't rat you out, but nice! I always knew you two had a thing." Emma smacked her arm, glancing back at Charming and Snow, who were examining the front door for signs of forced entry.

"Shush, we don't have a thing, it just happened last night. We—I don't know what it is and I'll never know if we don't find her, so can we focus?!"

"Alright, alright chill woman, you got laid last night shouldn't you be a bit more relaxed?" Emma glared at Ruby. "Kidding Em, we'll find her I promise." Ruby sniffed the air once more, her eyebrows coming together. "That's weird."

"What? What's weird?" Ruby drew in a deep breath again.

"It's a strange scent, well not technically a scent I guess, a feeling."

"You can smell feelings?"

"In a way yes, for instance I can smell and feel what occurred in the bedroom—oh and the hallway too apprantly." Ruby grins as Emma smacks her arm again. "Also I smell Regina out here on the landing, a flicker of anger and then it's gone, like it got swept away by wind." Emma grunted looking around the landing.

"I'm guessing that's not normal? The scent disappearing, not Regina's anger." Ruby chuckles.

"No, it's very unusual."

"What's unusual?" Snow and Charming had joined them on the stairs. Emma turned to face them.

"Ruby says she can track Regina's scent out here to the top of the stairs, and that she detects a flair of anger, then the scent disappears entirely." Emma ran her fingers through her hair and then shoved her hands in her back pocket.

"Well the anger sounds like Regina, but what would make her scent disappear altogether?" Ruby shrugs and sighs.

"I have no idea, never happened to me before." She pauses leaning down to look at the dust on the floor. "Maybe, if this is fairy dust, it's interfering with the scent?"

"It could, there are a million different uses for fairy dust. We're going to have to talk to a fairy so we can find out for sure if it is even fairy dust." Emma nodded quickly, then decended the stairs pulling out her cell phone.

"I'll call Tink, maybe she can help." Emma then disappeared into the kitchen. Snow watched her go, a thoughtful look on her face.

"Is it just me or is Emma acting strange?" Ruby glanced at the kitchen door biting her lip briefly.

"Emma's always a bit strange, and someone's missing, her son's mother. She's worried." Snow nods then shrugs.

"Yeah maybe that's it." She then looks up the stairs. "You know what worries me? Who could have taken Regina? If that's what happened? Who would have the power to do that?" They all looked up at once.

"Rumplestilskin."

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><p><strong>AN: And that's part one, hope you like it! Hopefully part two will be up in a week or two. I should be starting a new job this week so yay! Let me know what you think?**


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